Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light (Nintendo DS) Review

Going back to Final Fantasy's origins seems like a great approach on paper. Do away with outrageous character designs and confusing plotlines; focus on what made Final Fantasy so appealing in the first place, with classic turn-based battles, world maps and top-down gameplay as key features. Keep it simple and Square Enix is on to a winner, right? Many would have thought so.

It may not be out of the question to regard Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light as a remake of sorts of the very first Nintendo Entertainment System Final Fantasy game. The title suggests as much, and the basic and limited plot does have similarities to the game that kicked the franchise off. The theme surrounding the four main characters players are stuck with throughout the adventure is that of a light-hearted tale of friendship, but unfortunately, it's all rather forgettable. More frustratingly, it's not always entirely clear on where to go next and getting the right information is a case of trial and error and happening upon the correct NPCs. The playable characters are even split up for a great portion of the game, where four-man battles aren't the norm until halfway in. It's obvious that the focus of the game is not its story, but its gameplay.

However, where possibly the most important aspect of every Final Fantasy game lies, The 4 Heroes of Light also fails to deliver. Like the first three titles in the series, encounters are in the traditional turn-based format, but for some bizarre reason, it is not possible to select which enemy to target for attacks, or even which party member to heal. The game simply makes its own judgment, leaving plenty of head-scratching as to what the purpose of this is.

Battles themselves are simple to understand, though, with Action Points (AP) standing in place of the more familiar Magic Points. Each command costs between 1 and 5 AP, with basic functions like Attack and Item using just a single unit, with more powerful or beneficial abilities, such as magic, requiring more. Party members' AP recovers after each turn, and can be reserved if necessary. This modest approach to battle commands is much easier to understand than other games that utilise all sorts of points and numbers, at least giving RPG newcomers and younger players an easier time.

A variation of the fan-favourite Job System returns under the guise of the Crown System in The 4 Heroes of Light. Crowns grant unique abilities and bonuses and can be levelled up to learn stronger skills. With magic and equipment not being tied down to specific jobs in this game, it allows for a hefty choice of character combinations, as players mix and match with their favourite weapons and job types. It's also pleasant to see the effects of different crowns and equipment on the appearance of each character, which hasn't always been the case in Final Fantasy games - especially outside of battles. Sadly, grinding is rife, and the repetition of familiar enemies in bland locations just brings the whole thing down.

Another odd decision is limiting each character to carrying only 15 items, which means a lot of messing around in menus to try and make room for equipment, spells and items, and it's not always apparent what the best items to drop or keep should be, going forward. Why this limitation is thrown onto players is unknown, because it really just annoys than creates any reasonable tactical element.

On a more positive note, the picture book-like art style of the game is wonderful in its minimalistic design, giving off a rather unique, smooth and colourful look, and it's refreshing to see the overworld change from day to night on the four heroes' travels, with the music also altering accordingly. Surprisingly, the soundtrack is not quite as standout as any Final Fantasy fan would expect. Despite being rather NES- and SNES-styled in its nature, there really aren't too many memorable tracks that hit the heights of past games in the series.

What could have been a fantastic revival of the Final Fantasy franchise is marred by odd game design choices and a story that plays it far too safe, becoming quite boring. It's clear that in trying to go back to the start of the series, the developers sadly looked past some of the more significant areas of the other entries that could have ensured the game didn't become too outdated and unappealing. This is unfortunately the case with Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light.